A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to travel to Cologne and worship in the cathedral there. This was certainly one of the more interesting worship services I have ever been to, partly because of the spectacular setting, partly because of a language that is still foreign, and partly because of the crowd lined up to enter the church after the service is over. I can honestly say I have never seen people waiting to enter a sanctuary for reasons other than to worship!
And that makes me kind of sad. The service, although decently well attended, was not full; however, throngs of tourists awaited outside, ready to spend money to see a church where they could have sat through a free service and admired it for longer. Unfortunately, I believe this tells the story of religion in Europe as a whole, as something that existed hundreds of years ago but is now a relic from a forgotten time, not something that can still be experienced daily- and for free!
As far as the church service went, it was a standard Catholic service with the exception of the setting, with lots of traditional singing, chanting, and incense-swinging. I did enjoy the traditional aspects of the service, as it really fit the church. I believe the main difference was that we did not take Communion, as as Protestants we do not believe in transubstantiation- the literal changing of bread to the body of Christ, but that would be the same in any Catholic church.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Cologne, and the church service was a great part of that weekend.